Managing Boomtown Perth: Policy Challenges for Adequate Housing Provision

With predictions of $300 billion being invested into Western Australia’s resources sector in coming years and acknowledgement that the metropolitan population is likely to grow to 3.5 million by the middle of this century, Perth will be the national testing ground for how it tackles the issue of providing adequate and affordable housing, according to Committee for Perth CEO Marion Fulker.

“Good housing and its availability and affordability are at the heart of every sustainable and successful community. What’s at stake here isn’t just Perth’s ranking in international liveability surveys. How this is managed will define the true social legacy of Perth’s resource fuelled boom,” said Mrs Fulker.

FACTBase research released by the Committee for Perth and carried out by Assistant Professor of Human Geography Steffen Wetzstein from the University of Western Australia says that while ‘Boomtown Perth’ promises hope, prosperity and a good life for many, the housing sector faces a number of challenges under high growth conditions.